in this hearing. in 2000, an overwhelming majority of senators sent a letter to president clinton, reaffirming our solidarity with israel. i was one of them who carried that letter around. i remember it well. and senator hagel was one of just four who refused to sign that letter. and i'm sure he'll want to comment about that. in 2001, he was one of just two senators who voted against a bill extending harsh sanctions against iran. a year later, he urged the bush administration to support iran's membership in the world trade organization. senator hagel voted against a resolution, designating iran's rev resolutionary guard corps, a group responsible for killing american soldiers in iraq and afghanistan, as a terrorist organization. and on multiple occasions, he has advocating for direct negotiations with iran, who have continually repress its people, pursue nuclear weapon capabilities, and pursue terrorist proxies, including hamas, hezbollah, threaten the people in the region. he has been a supporter of the zero global movement. we're very sensitive to that. we know that the president has said many t